Lessons

Once upon a time, in a condo tower in the ambitious burbs, lived a dude named Tony. One morning he woke up, flicked on Global News and was gobsmacked. “Housing sales soar?,” he said out loud, which was pretty much wasted since his GF had split in disgust. “I must sell.”

So he did. First the ethical realtor showed up, said he’d charge the usual 5%, and that the place was worth $319,000, tops. Not enough, T muttered. Then the family-friend realtor came by, said he’d low-ball the commission and list for $340,000. Sold, said Tony.

But not so fast. First he had to stage it (and discovered that GFs have other, practical, uses) which cost two grand. Four months went by, and only one offer. “Lousy vulture!” said an inflamed Tony, and he didn’t even sign back the $320,000 bid. When the listing ran out he shipped back the chi-chi leather chairs, changed realtors, repriced the place at $329,900 and drank too much wine.

Two weeks ago, another offer, for five thousand less than the last one. Tony talked it up to $320,000, and capitulated. “Never again,” he spewed. “I’m renting. And no more real estate bullshit.” No wonder. Three extra months to sell with carrying costs of $2,000 monthly, plus the staging meant he was out $8,000 – in addition to paying the regular commission. Instead of profiting from a rising, hot market, Tony was spanked in a buyer’s market.

Lessons: Never believe Global. Or the real estate board. Never choose a realtor just because she’s cheap. Never choose an asking price without knowing what the comparables are, or true market conditions. Never pick an agent just because they promise an inflated sale price. If you don’t get traffic or offers, then you screwed up and need to drop the price. Always keep a GF around to shovel up your debris and stop you from being a dickhead. Never get emotional over an offer – work with it. And, most importantly, don’t buy what you can rent for half the cost, then walk away from at will.

In most markets, condos are now toxic. Current buyers won’t see any appreciation, after taxes, fees and commissions, for years to come, at best. It’s impossible to buy a condo, rent it out, and even cover your costs. Prices are poised to enter a multi-year melt as supply overwhelms demand in places like Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, as is already happening in Winnipeg and Montreal. Renting units will grow cheaper as more come on stream and flippers who bought on spec become reluctant landlords. With no equity growth and vastly higher monthly costs, owners will see their net worth eroded while landlords subsidize tenants.

But, it gets worse. As I told you more than a year ago, condo flippers, speckers, short-term owners and even many unsuspecting buyers could end up on pointy end of CRA, facing significant and totally unexpected tax bills. That seems to be ratcheting up into high gear now, with the tax cops papering Toronto and Vancouver with ‘questionnaires’ about condo buys and sells. If you receive one of them, have your dog eat it.

Always on the quest to find new money to support Mike Duffy and Pam Wallin, the feds are deep into audits on the Toronto condo scene. Anyone who bought a unit pre-construction, then sold for a profit without actually moving in, is liable for capital gains tax, and must also repay the GST/HST refund that residents receive. That’s pretty obvious.

But the revenuers are also after people who bought new condos, lived there for a few months, then sold for a gain. They, too, are being served with bills for capital gains, tax rebate repayment or worse, since the time spent as occupants was not great enough to consider the condos to be principal residences. Instead, the units are being classified as investments – meaning you can deduct the mortgage interest from taxable income, but face tax on the entire proceeds, possibly as income. Now real estate brokers are being warned if they suggested this strategy to new-unit buyers at any time during the past seven years (the audit period), they could be sued by their former clients, the buyers.

By the way, there is no hiding. The CRA has access to every shred of information about purchases, assignments, sales, mortgages, commissions, rebates and profits. That includes lists of buyers provided by developers and sales data from land registry offices. Escape is futile. You are surrounded.

Condo-hopping has been a totally accepted method of harvesting real estate gains by people who thought that by living there, all profits were tax-free. It’s also been at the heart of strategies suggested endlessly by developers and promoters like the legendary Brad Lamb. It’s at the core of a flawed and dangerous strategy the cultists at REIN call ‘the property ladder.’ So, beware. CRA will give you tax-less profits on real estate only if it believes you bought the place to live in, not to diddle with.

Hi Garth: Calgary Herald story today about Calgary market rising due to flood and increased demand resulting from people having to buy as little to rent available. Any thoughts on a) if this is actually true and b) if so, how long is it likely to go on.

I remember you saying that cities that flood like this typically see a decline in property values over the next few years. Is there a time lag for this? thanks.

There is one building in Langford B.C. that is 4 floors with only a few occupants.They have a sign out side the building for 99 % financing on oac.Every one called it stonehedge because it was just a concrete shell for a few years.Welcome to Langford ,where everyone gets a building permit.

….it’s not just capital gains that you need to worry about…a few years ago a friend sold an investment property that was part of a limited partnership and they deemed some of the proceeds to be regular income…

Garth, not much has actually changed here in Regina. Real estate is still king and construction related jobs are plentiful. To boot, there is clearly many new immigrants to the city. All this added demand, and now high oil prices supporting that industry in southern Saskatchewan, it looks like this crazy ‘growth’ trend is here for a while. Another notable is BHP is going to keep moving forward with it’s giant potash mine in Sask so even the Russian cartel breakup isn’t affecting things too much.

I want this insanity to end just like most people on this blog because I want my hard earned and invested dollars to be worth something but as of right now it looks like I might as well use my money for kindling. Banks still easily get people into new homes and trucks despite the few steps the gov’t has taken to try normalize the credit/mortgage situation. I’m really starting to lose hope that the old ‘work hard, save up, reap the benefits’ mentality still applies or will ever apply in my life. It’s really depressing.

“But, it gets worse. As I told you more than a year ago, condo flippers, speckers, short-term owners and even many unsuspecting buyers could end up on pointy end of CRA, facing significant and totally unexpected tax bills.” – Garth

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Sorry Garth, that is a crock. There may be a “questionaire”, but so what. Maybe they’re just putting out a trial balloon. I know a guy who, in the early nineties sold an investment house, that he had bought with his sister, at a big loss. He claimed that capital loss, somehow, against his earned income. Apparently, he was never called up on it. Neither was his sister. I don’t think the CRA will seriously go after these “investors” if (a big if!) condo prices fall substantially. Won’t be politically tenable.
You lose. They already are. — Garth

If someone bought the condo, and actually LIVED in it for 18 months, it will be pretty tough for CRA to tax them on it. Nowhere does CRA stipulate the actually necessary time to live in a place before it can be classified as one’s residence. Not much to worry about, if they actually lived in it.

Wrong. Under two years and it can be considered a flip. The CRA is the judge. — Garth

Way to go CRA.
Its about the RE flipping queens receive their bill like everyone else who makes a legitimate profit.
As far as the photo of that bolding charlatan ,it took me even less then 2 seconds to induce full nausea !

#17The idiot of the day:70% of the immigrants arriving to Canada are "economic immigrants" on 08.29.13 at 9:34 pm

The actual data show that nearly 70% of the immigrants arriving to Canada are “economic immigrants” meaning they have to have solid skills/experience levels to get into the country and/or have appropriate equity capital (under the VIP Business Immigration program) to receive permanent residency in the country. Within ten years, studies have shown these immigrants tend to have earnings that are near or above the Canadian average. This partly explains why they tend to have high homeownership rates. in fact many come to Canada with a high aspiration to own a home. In other words, they work hard to get where they want to in life and don’t sit around blaming the economy for the lack of ability to get a job in their chosen field of study.gomyone

In the same thread someone replies

the median individual employment
income in 2005 for recent immigrants aged
25 to 64 was $19,799 compared to $45,799
for the non-immigrant population

His answer:

Umm you didn’t read correctly what I wrote. I said “within ten years” – your quote references “recent” immigrants which, suffice it to say, is not the same.

And the conversation continues with immigrants buying homes in groups of four families and living together under the same roof.

This is supposed to sustain the market …I have to admit that the today’s immigrant must be pretty disoriented, one one hand he has solid skills and makes lots of money and on the other hand you need 4 families to buy a house.

And yes, I forgot to say that they all prefer to come to Toronto and Vancouver where the homes are so cheap.

Reading this makes you wonder how far the intended stupidity can go to justify the current situation.

3) 15,000-square-foot Las Vegas mansion once owned by Liberace was sold for $500,000 while in Vancouver 2600sq crack shack want 1.7 million when I say crack shack I means the property is a block away from crack central where crack heads and working girls plying their trade. I suspect the realtor is smoking crack while inspecting the property to come with that estimate

what about the hit and increase on the bait and switch condo fees. We suffered this in the Okanagan in 2008 when 1200 sq ft started at $108 per month and when we got out in 2010 was at $388 per month….

So tell us Garth, why did the government handle this so half-assedly? Why, when seeing the surge in condo flipping, didn’t it inform the tax subjects that all those profits are taxable and make sure the message gets to Joe Flipper via TV, radio, billboards, magazines, newspapers and so on and so forth – you know, just like they tooted about “Canada Action Plan” and how “useful” it was for the country?
Why did they let this go so far and let so many get themselves on the hook for so much dough to the CRA, and only now are coming hard after them all? It again looks like a conspiracy to me; or, the guvmint is so damn dumb and incompetent and now is just starting to wake up and trying to “fix the situation”, but I don’t believe the latter.
There surely WAS an agenda behind these moves: lower the rates, extend the amort period, let the tax subjects binge on RE for as much as possible, don’t even whisper about taxes on all those easy profits – let them get into it as deeply as possible. Then, when the party stops – pound them with higher rates, shorter amorts, and, worst of all – squeeze some nice dough out of them via taxes. Oh, those pure and naive souls! Now they will be forced to pay through the nose!!! And they will have no escape, because you just don’t screw with the CRA – even the Great Smoking Man says so.
It looks like the show will be even more interesting than we expected. Too much schadenfreude for the 20 or so percent of Canada, says I. You know – the renters ;)

Obviously anything in the Calgary flood zone or anywhere in High River will be a tough sell for the next few years. Conversely, realtors are loudly proclaiming “High and Dry!” in their ads for houses up on the plateau, and adding a few thousand to the buy price. Dance with glee if you own in Altadore or Edgemont.

Okotoks is mostly on the plateau above the Sheep River, so my prediction is that High River real estate demand will migrate there.

Decent family rentals are extremely difficult to find in Calgary, so that is forcing families to buy instead of renting. Any speculator with particleboard shacks in South Cranston or Saddleridge is dancing with glee.

The great flood saved Calgary realtors and builders. Talk about dumb luck.

Nothing new here…
According to Diane Francis going back to 2012, “Some developers, and intermediaries, are in the business of helping speculators flip their rights and pocket a fee for doing so? For instance, Mr. X from Asia pays $15,000 for the right to buy a $300,000 condo, then, when the price of similar units rise to $400,000, he can assign the right, get his deposit back and make the $100,000 difference….The paperwork for these agreements is kept in-house and my source said one intermediary told him that there are no T-5s issued to the speculator or to the Canada Revenue Agency, something that stock and futures market intermediaries must do so that taxes can be paid on the $100,000 trading profits. Instead, the profits vanish, possibly along with the paperwork, and taxes paid will be by the end user if they buy, rent out the unit and make a capital gain down the road”.

All I can say, it’s taken CRA a long time to catch up to this game. Are they assessing and collecting taxes on foreign flippers??. CRA seems to be unusually harsh (based on other recent articles) with young condo buyers (as if the first home owners didn’t have enough to deal with) given that years can pass (love, marriage, first child) between purchase and possession.

An estimated 70 per cent of TO condo buyers have been investors, which CRA is now targeting. There is zero evidence a significant number represent offshore money. Do you have any? Ms. Francis did not. –Garth

“I know a guy who, in the early nineties sold an investment house, that he had bought with his sister, at a big loss. He claimed that capital loss, somehow, against his earned income.”
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That’s a pretty vague “somehow”.

There is no provision to claim such a deduction on any tax form or software program I’ve ever seen.

Capital losses in any given year may only be used to reduce capital gains claimed within the previous three years. That forces a reassessment of the year in which the loss is to be applied, and hopefully, a refund for that year.

The only way I can see to accomplish the feat you describe is to outright lie about your taxable income. That’s pure and simple tax evasion.

I suppose it’s easy to lie to the CRA (at great personal peril) but I doubt they would miss a completely invalid deduction if it was there on the page.

Anthony, I mean Tony, should’ve waited until late 2016…I’m sure once the subway comes online he would see the demand shunted to him from thousands of suburbanites who would’ve taken a unit off the market closer to the city core but have less of a reason to do so due to better transportation options (though will still be desirable for most youngsters and those in the farther sticks).

CRA will be working overtime trying to drum up revenue from every source possible.Im sure an entry position there would pay upwards of 60 k per yr knowing how civil servants like to take care of their own.Let the gov. workers float our sinking economy,the shrinking middle class hasnt a chance

The Friends and Family promotions by the development industry is now being hunted by the CRA.

These 7pm soiree held in condo sales offices, where ‘friends & gullible family’ are plied with wine by mini-skirted hostesses in dimly lit faux staged condo floor plans. For $250k, a piece of paper is sold representing a unspecified unit in a building not yet approved by the city. Promises that this paper can be flipped for minimum of $150k more.

No taxes are paid…all very shady. The developer only wants to show the bank they have 70% sold to get financing.

This BVI leak is over 200 gigabytes covering more than a decade of financial information
The names were unearthed in a project by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

GEEEEEZZZUS Christ on a a CROSS! Are we STILL talking about this? Don’t you people get it yet? The marked is kaput, cooked, done, over, and dead. I’m curious to know which one of you still believes the BS the banks, RE boards, CREA, and media spew. Get with the times, already, okay? YAWN.

All will be well when the used up jocks get the ‘I didn’t know smashing into people would hurt me’ settlement. They will create jobs and improve quality of living. If we are lucky they will become real estate agents in their home towns.

I don’t think the CRA will seriously go after these “investors” if (a big if!) condo prices fall substantially. Won’t be politically tenable.

You lose. They already are. — Garth
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That’s because the Feds need the dough to pay for 20 billion a year worth of old geezer immigrants who have never paid a dime of tax (Fraser Report). Meanwhile 3rd gen Canadians have to wait 18 months ( or die waiting) for an MRI

re #15 Trader
actually, Trader, you are correct.
Garth: the income tax act does not stipulate specific periods of time (ie: 2 years) that one must hold property prior to being able to deem said property a principal residence.
in fact, what our auditors are utilizing is the following, which is WORSEhttp://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it459/it459-80e.txt

they are trying to deem these sales ventures in the nature of trade, thereby causing them to be regular income.
To qualify as a principal residence has been relatively easy, even for renovators/speculators. There has been no hard and fast rule regarding how long one must hold the property, simply it must be inhabited for ‘some portion of time’.
see this portion of the guide for actual interpretationhttp://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4037/t4037-12e.pdf

Which means, as I said, it is very open to interpretation. I have some experience in this regard. — Garth

Haven’t read the blog much lately, been busy finding my way out of the ‘tax farm slave’ position.

But…..the S is gonna hit the fan. And Garth’s right, the ‘authorities’ are cracking down. My humble abode in Esquimalt (victoria) has been busted as an illegal suite. Imagine my shock. When does this ever happen, especially in the city, where a few short years ago, rental units were scarce.
But the ultimate shock is my new landlord ( who purchased this duplex July 2012, on the premise that the bsmnt suite has been rented for the last 15 years).
I have been here for 4.5 years and Im being given the boot. By-law officer said I have 90 days. (He incidentally used to be the chief of Police for Esq. a few years back)
Im not the only person this has been happening to. They are cracking down…..why now? Who knows? But all those that bought in Esq with ‘mortgage helpers’ are SKA-rewed.
And in 90 days, I walk. Its a hassle, but nowhere the nightmare my LL has got. And incidentally, he DID report my suite as income…..
Gonna be lots tears and the crisis lines are going to be BUSY in the next few years…..

An estimated 70 per cent of TO condo buyers have been investors…………-Garth
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I’m surprised at this percentage. Over what period of time and when? Wow, this is news Garth, do you have more info to share regarding who’s been tracking these numbers? Is the same true for Vancouver?

SMan — Like your posts. Keep going! Hastings was murdered because he was about to go public with an exposé on the current CIA head, but this also has an element of truth. The axis of evil (US, Israel and SArabia along with the west’s coalition) is falling to pieces, and it appears that Syria has exploded with all the force of a wet fart. May the farce be with us! Plus this.Pic #2 is curiously interesting.

If I ever need an MRI and have to wait 18 months, the easiest way for me to get the MRI quicker is to rob a bank. Prisoners are in the first tier of healthcare along with politicians, Worksafe casualties, Auto insurnance claiments and professional athletes. Think prisoner is the easiest way to get to the first tier in our healthcare model and get the help I would need. At worst, I don’t get caught and steal enough money to pay for private care.

Other wise, nothing new….when times are good Gov’t don’t rock the boat. If CRA is going after parties now…good sign of the economic SHTF cycle.

Follow history and term carpetbagging.
As I have stated before, Winston Churchill was in North America the day the Stock Market crashed and created the Great Depression….sort of a message to all politicians WHO really wields the power.

Just looking at that fatheaded bald jerk for 2 seconds makes we want to barf……

Attack the deeds, not the man. — Garth
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For the most part the “don’t hate the player, hate the game” philosophy is true. But mr lamb is partially responsible for how some of the game is played.

#6 happy renter on 08.29.13 at 9:05 pm
There is one building in Langford B.C. that is 4 floors with only a few occupants.They have a sign out side the building for 99 % financing on oac.Every one called it stonehedge because it was just a concrete shell for a few years.Welcome to Langford ,where everyone gets a building permit.

So…. it started off with an audit of a few Senator’s Expenses and now all the Senators are getting audited.

And now the rest of us 33 million Canadians will see Questionnaires for CRA to audit us. Well not exactly all the 33 million, just the adults.

Specifically, the Adults who were or are home or condo owners. Owners who lived in their property as their PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE, because most of them, probably didn’t own any other property, yet, still will get dinged, if they lived in it for less than 2 years and sold for a capital gain.

Will the CRA tax the “Net Capital Gain” or “Gross CG”.

After the expenses of the LTT, Legal Fees, Yearly Property Taxes, Condo or House Insurance, Mortgage Interest, Real Estate Commission….the Net Gain will not be as much as if it were the “Gross Capital Gain”.

Will Canadians be able to get their old taxes reassessed for their “Capital Losses” on the condos/houses sold at a loss, like in 2008/9? Or 2013?

They have finally discovered a “cash cow”. All that HAM that has flowed into condos now sitting empty in Vancouver is the new target.

Nothing personal but taxes must be paid. Sounds fair to me. And as a bonus, it will slow down the condo market buyers, the root of the real estate evil that is now widespread in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

If someone bought the condo, and actually LIVED in it for 18 months, it will be pretty tough for CRA to tax them on it.
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I would generally agree with that statement based on experience as a tax specialist for a major CA firm and also as a CRA auditor. The CRA is not the judge but the prosecutor. The courts may not agree with their position.

Prior to 1972, capital gains were not taxed so the game was to claim that a speculative venture, typically a land purchase, whose profits would otherwise be taxable as business income, was actually intended to be a long term investment. If the taxpayer was able to show the court that the intent to hold was frustrated by unavoidable circumstances, the courts would tend to take the taxpayer’s side. As this was an area rife with abuse, there is already a raft of jurisprudence on record, both for and against CRA.

The bottom line is intent, not the period you occupied the property. If your course of conduct reasonably suggests an initial intent to flip, you are probably doomed but if you actually intended to live there and circumstances changed, don’t roll over. Talk to a tax lawyer and listen to what he says. They are expensive but they are usually too busy to need string you along just for a fee. Do not expect a tax accountant to do you much good in a fight with CRA. That’s not their job.

“Folks who’ve sold condos or houses less than a year after taking possession seem to be the prime focus of CRA auditors so far, but tax lawyers are advising clients they could be at risk of a tax bill for at least 50 per cent of any gains made if they’ve sold before living in the property 18 months to two years.”

I think I’ll log off, before I submit anymore comments.
Good nite from Van.

yeah, the CRA has access to every shred of information on buyers, but why don’t they have details on the number of Chinese buyers? They aren’t tracking how much real estate is being snapped up by wealthy foreigners because they know there would be a huge backlash if people found out.

timmy – “yeah, the CRA has access to every shred of information on buyers, but why don’t they have details on the number of Chinese buyers? They aren’t tracking how much real estate is being snapped up by wealthy foreigners because they know there would be a huge backlash if people found out.”

Exactly! They have or could easily get this information, but they don’t dare let the truth escape. Too much money was being made by very important people.

As for Antonio, I mean Anthony, I mean Tony, waiting for 2016 to sell in Vaughan because of subway coming to Hwy7 and Jane( quite a feat by the way of what a little casha moneta thrown around by the biggest of builders can do, that is, drag a subway line to an unpopulated industrial area with a strip joint), with all due respect Spacconebla, I think you’re wrong.

Prices for boxes in the sky are sky high already. Best Antonio, Anthony, Tony will do is sell for what they are worth today and carry costs all the way along.

By the way, the Tony’s, Luigi’s and Maria’s throughout the northern reaches and Kleinburg, the Hollywood Hills of Woodbridge ,all believe that the subway at Jane and Hwy 7 will increase the value of their properties such that they will be more desirable than Lawrence Park. Hope they all have helicopter pads to get to the station cause “dey gonna needa dem”

“Now real estate brokers are being warned if they suggested this strategy to new-unit buyers at any time during the past seven years (the audit period), they could be sued by their former clients, the buyers.”

Absolutely!
As well as for comments along the lines of “you can re-sell it easily” or “you’ll make money on this one, no problem”, etc.
Realtors should be 100% liable for all sloppy, self-interested, dangerous and false implications and statements made.
When visiting a property, as much as possible, always bring a witness/partner, and if you suspect realtor BS, put the comment down in quotation marks, ask many questions about the comment and develop a conversation around it . Make these notes on the actual listing in real time. That way, you’ll have more evidence if needed.
The time for misleading people and obfuscating reality is way overdue.
Fiscally damaging deals must be addressed in courts of law and buyers fully compensated.
Legal action should also apply to any prospective buyer who has spent any money in good faith only to receive information at the 11th hour that prevents a deal going through.

If a pile of people are going after the Trump Tower project for miss leading buyers of the potential up-side of buying one (or more) of their units …… Isn’t Mr Lamb and even juicier target for a law suit? … after his newspaper ads laying out the profits (after NOT paying taxes) of getting involved with his projects?

For sure in the next year or two there will be hundreds (if not thousands) who could lay out their case for NOT making money as carefully laid out by his ads. And actually losing massive amounts of money.

Can you tell us more? Do you know any other units that have recently been taken out? Had you or someone else made a complaint about the owner to the bylaw guys about anything? This is pretty interesting to some of us in Ontario, where municipalities now have the right to “license” rental units, and where a lot (and there are a lot) of improperly-zoned/illegal rental units could be taken offline if their respective municipalities decide to go with registration.

Your landlord didn’t do his due diligence, but then again, you’re right to wonder “why now?” It could be a big problem in bigger cities where there might literally be tens of thousands of properties being used for other than their zoned use.

It always makes me wonder how people can take advice from a salesman. OF COURSE real estate is a WONDERFUL investment says the man who sells RE for a living.
RE agents are no different. There is always someone out there trying to separate you from your money my Grandpa always says. For a Geezer, he’s right!

Article of possible interest to your readers:http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/26-2
The Leveraged Buyout of America
Giant bank holding companies now own airports, toll roads, and ports; control power plants; and store and hoard vast quantities of commodities of all sorts. They are systematically buying up or gaining control of the essential lifelines of the economy. How have they pulled this off, and where have they gotten the money?

#4 Smoking Man on 08.29.13 at 9:03 pm
I’m the Smoking Man…
Dyslexic, and illusioned about a fleeting brilliance.
You should all read my posts and see how I degrade as I drink.
Everything I say is golden and I am the messiah of all truths.
My soul is at one with the Universe and my anus at one with your anus.
Don’t misunderstand my mission – to use Garth’s message as a pulling mechanism so I can distribute my incomprehensible drivel to you all. I am the real reason this blog exists…

This is not the Smoking Man for sure, he is a Drunken Godless corrupter of the English language. As for actually ever possessing a soul that would be an oxymoron. Although he sure is into anus talk and he does love gays???? Hummmmm, Nope not the real Smoking Man, just thought about it, I could easily read this through in one glance.

I can understand how condo prices are set to drop, been reading this blog for a while, but this is what I have been wondering: Will dropping condo prices ever have an effect on condo fees?

I have been looking at condos in the Ottawa area, and the nicer ones have very high condo fees. It would seem to me that if prices keep dropping the fees will seem higher in relation, and therefore more unreasonable as the price drops further…and so on…

“Now real estate brokers are being warned if they suggested this strategy to new-unit buyers at any time during the past seven years (the audit period), they could be sued by their former clients, the buyers.”
….
Oh good luck with that. Nothing will be on paper, it would be suing based on the puffery of a RE agent. I doubt these poor flippers will have the time or money to spend on such an obviously losing cause…not that the RE jackals wouldn’t deserve it though.

Global? CBC? CKNW? Garbage in garbage out my friend. We live in a culture of deceit – especially when it comes to politics and finance. We have to be better at “minding our own business”. Will there be a fire sale of assets (real estate, consumer products) in 2015? Your garage sale will not save you. Your only hope is to keep your job – and keep your mortgage free rental property rented. High cash position plus low debt equals 7 hours of sound sleep every night. Oh yeah…and keep your job!!

@johnny d, post #9:
I’m really starting to lose hope that the old ‘work hard, save up, reap the benefits’ mentality still applies or will ever apply in my life.
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Yes, that sensible mentality looks like it’s been beat up badly these days but it’s not dead. Rent, save your money and put it into assets that are on sale these days like REITs, preferred share ETFs, Emerging Markets ETFs and utility stocks that pay a good dividend. Remember, when the share price of these investments drops but the dividend is the same, the yield is higher. You’ll have the last laugh.

Just a word of wisdom about the Smoking Man, as he is not what you perceive. He loves to jest a bit as do myself on occassion, but when all is said and done the Smoking Man is a very cool guy – enough said! On the other hand, if I had a mature daughter of beauty who was hitting the clubs in TO, or elsewhere would warn her about the Smoking Man, as he is a lady’s man on the hunt. :)

As a ‘tax compliant’ American, living in Canada, you will have a hard time investing, saving for retirement and your future children’s education, not to mention the ongoing yearly costs to file US tax returns and FBARS which will get more and more complex and costly as you get older and your net worth increases.

For example, USA will tax you on your TFSA’s, and RESPS, and treats them as ‘foreign trusts’ subject to complex annual reporting. Canadian mutual funds are PFICS (don’t ask), never mind that Garth hates them and everyone know they are useless even for non-American Canadians. The foreign income exclusion of 90K does not apply to non-earned income (investment income, pension earnings, employment insurance benefits, etc). The list goes on.

If you decide not to move to the USA, after your Streamlined Compliance Amnesty submission is resolved, you should consider renouncing US citizenship or be prepared to carry around a very expensive, complex, life limiting ball and chain for the rest of your life.

Any Canadian who moves to USA is a coward, or looking for a way out for a better life, and it might become an illusion, as the land of the free and the brave is no more. Money in life is not the means to an end of the journey in life, so stay in Canada and make it better for you and your family. If you believe that Canada needs a fix, I say run for office at any level of government, or do something within your community to make it better; just stay and enjoy what Canada has to offer, and that is the challenge. Caesar must go, so we all must fight to make this happen, and bring Canada back as a country that was loved by all.

A DiabolicalConspiracyTheory so improbable… even Nosty wouldn’t propose it!…

But what if?

Consider the facts… GT’s frequent absences from HogTown in favour of sleepy little Atlantic ports… His known penchant for bargain ‘FixerUppers’… His well documented exploits in architectural conservation/preservation…

His previous experience of managing EcoTourismVentures… more ‘Amazons’ on tap than ColonelGaddafi on his best weekend; their sole purpose – or so we’ve been told – to stoke the fires of his wildest hedonistic impulses? Hah!…

And the SmokingGun: He has a beard.

See where I’m going with this?… Now, here’s your context:

…”The Nova Scotia schooner pictured on Canada’s 10-cent coin is still languishing in dry dock almost a year after its failed re-launch, hampering the province’s efforts to attract tourist dollars.

The Bluenose II, a replica of the double-masted, eight-sailed fishing vessel that once held the title of the world’s fastest, is sitting in its Lunenburg home instead of touring the U.S. Atlantic Coast this summer.”

NoteToDogs: I’ve thought about this a lot: my best guess is that, having called in a political favour or two, GT has secretly obtained a Letter of Marque&Reprisal and will shortly resurrect BlueNoseII as a Privateer… If I were living in the Hamptons anywhere near the shore… I would be very, very afraid.

“Three extra months to sell with carrying costs of $2,000 monthly, plus the staging meant he was out $8,000”

This seems to assume that he could have lived for free for those three months if had sold right away. Presumably he would have had to pay rent. Unless that 2000 per month was over and above what he would have had to pay for rent which seems unlikely.

Lol, I’m sure as it stands now people are already praying for helicopter pads the way roads probably are for a third to half the day on top of dozens of stop signs and stop lights just to travel from one’s house to the next block.

@109 WhiteKat:
Thank you for your comments, it is a concern to me. Won’t be having kids so RESPs are not a concern, and I’m not going have any mutual funds outside of the work plan RRSP, which I liquidate yearly to my self-directed account. I do have a TFSA with common stock (ETFs), and I gave all the info on it to the tax accountant. Yearly filing costs (if I keep no mutual funds) should be $350 a year with HR block. The initial fee to do all the amnesty work was a painful 2 grand, although apparently the accountant thinks I’m up for $1500 worth of rebates from the US govt because up until recently I was a student. I do plan to mull on it for about 5 years, then decide on renouncing one way or another.

@Old Man, post #110:
Why is any Canadian who moves to USA a coward? If you have specific skills and can’t find a job in Canada but get a good job offer in the USA, why not take it? Similarly a lot of Canadians move to the USA to further their career. A person who does so is sensible, and not a coward. An example is a lot of Canadians live in Los Angeles and work in the movie business. In fact, such a person who relocates shows initiative and gumption to get up and improve their lot in life rather than just complain about what is wrong with the system as many Canadians do. That’s anything but cowardly.

In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a free market economy where you can sell your services to whomever you please or gives you the best offer. If that’s not to your liking, would you prefer a regime where the government tells you where you can get a job or relocate to? If so, then North Korea would be to your liking. Another option is Cuba, but it’s a less desirable option now as gradually a market economy is emerging along side the state controlled communist system.

An update, buddy has had house on the market for over a year now. Did he take my advice? NOT! He bought in the country side with no conditions, told him to list and sell old 2 BDR ASAP. Spent the next 6 months and 40 grand to reno his 2bdr 1 bath. 90 year old Realtor had him list about 20% higher than comparables, as it has a 2 car garage (nobody gives a shit about a 2 car garage) Listed at $489,000. Best offer $425,000 9 months after sitting on the market ( somebody calculate the interest and taxes for me please….)

Fell thru… still listed at $450,000 no offers. Are people that clueless as to what is happening out there? I have a hell of a time talking any sense into these people without slapping them….

The Bluenose II, a replica of the double-masted, eight-sailed fishing vessel that once held the title of the world’s fastest, is sitting in its Lunenburg home instead of touring the U.S. Atlantic Coast this summer.”

==================================

Why not rename it the BROWNOSE and let Smoking Man launch it with a 6 pack?

#121 Doug in London – can see you and I are not on the same page, as am taking an upper road, and you are rationalizing a lot of booga, so wish you well, as will stand firm on my scenario without further comment, as will not fall into your trap with this and that. OK!

Post #73 – Exactly! They have or could easily get this information, but they don’t dare let the truth escape. Too much money was being made by very important people.

“I love the name. Captures your essence. — Garth”

—–

When a particular group of rich people (I don’t care whether they’re Chinese, Saudi Arabian, Russian or Swiss cheese) come into an area in huge numbers, force up house prices for citizens who were born here, yes, you bet, I’ve got a problem with that.

And every time someone mentions this, you call the race card. What’s with that? Shouldn’t we have a right to know the numbers, you know, just so we can put a price on the selling of our country? The numbers would allow us to finally understand why our children can no longer afford to live in the city they were born in.

Garth, I truly believe YOUR essence is showing. You don’t stand for transparency, after all? We not only should know the figures now, but we should have known them all along.

But too much money was being made, and knowing what went on could have potentially ended the party. Better to keep things hidden.

Is that what you stand for, Garth? Sometimes I wonder.

It’s a free country. Bashing others is a poor substitute for your own inability to compete. A house is not a right. — Garth

#95 lawboy
“good luck with sueing a RE agent over false profit promises”. I agree …. on a one on one basis it certainly wouldn’t be worth the effort (unless you had video tape of the RE agents shpeel and could show significant $ losses). But in a case like Mr. Lambs newpaper articles showing guaranteed profits …. and the many people who will FOR SURE be in significantly negative $ return territory for many years (both in cash flow and net worth) ….. lots of lawyers would salivate over firing up a class action suit. The many “victomized” parties would just list and sign affidavits of their sad condo buying experience and the lawyer would take it from there. I can almost hear Mr. Lamb, his accountants and lawyers re-shuffling project ownerships into different Hold Co.’s and Trusts as we speak … to go into “ass covering mode”. If you want to be an ego maniac/super star and plaster your name and image all over the media …. prepair for some flak when things go shitty.

Just a word of wisdom about the Smoking Man, as he is not what you perceive. He loves to jest a bit as do myself on occassion, but when all is said and done the Smoking Man is a very cool guy – enough said! On the other hand, if I had a mature daughter of beauty who was hitting the clubs in TO, or elsewhere would warn her about the Smoking Man, as he is a lady’s man on the hunt. :)

MKULTRA says he is a married man and should not be on the hunt or the next hunt will be his wife going after Smoking Man with a baseball bat like the Godfather.

MKULTRA knows these things. Smoking man says he perceives everything and in-touch with the Universe. That’s because we let him perceive!
He doesn’t know whats in the water down by Longbranch, but we do.

Garth often talks about property virgins ‘winning’ a bidding a war, especially in the under $1million CMHC insurable set. I just saw this posted by someone I know on facebook. This is the real thing folks, read it and get the popcorn ready.

Well it’s official!!!!! Our dream house passed the home inspection with flying colours today! Somehow after spending months and months searching for houses in Toronto and unsuccessful bidding wars we found ourselves in yet another dreaded bidding war… Our agent is a miracle worker and we somehow beat out higher bidders and got the house!!!!!! We move in on Sept 26th! WAAAAA HOOOOO!!!!

good point. Now, why didn’t CRA do their job and go after flippers’ profits as they incurred them? Why let this get out of hand first (and give flippers the impression that they can keep all that money and not be held accountable), and only now pursue them for profit taxes?
There will be a lot of pain because lots of those profits were simply spent on consumption and these taxes will hit funds budgeted for necessities.

So tell us Garth, why did the government handle this so half-assedly? Why, when seeing the surge in condo flipping, didn’t it inform the tax subjects that all those profits are taxable and make sure the message gets to Joe Flipper via TV, radio, billboards, magazines, newspapers and so on and so forth

And they should because? It’s not a new law. And ignorance of the law is no excuse. When some investment promises fat tax-free gains, maybe it is time to consult a reputable tax professional, eh?

Shaun Osborne, Chief FX Strategist, TD Securities says on the Aug. 30 TDW weekly video that tapering will likely start soon after Sep. 17, after Fed meeting. The powers that be want to get ‘er started and done asap because of the distortions it is causing in other markets, and want to get the process underway before Bernanke exits. Effects will be that by mid-2014 Canadian dollar will be at 90 cents, and USD will be king. This will give Canadian exporters a break [but what about Canadian consumers of American goods? sticker shock for them.] He advised buying U.S. stocks and/or Canadian stocks with a lot of U.S. exposure.

#118 Smoking Man — “Looks like war is back on, made a huge bet on oil futers on Monday. Going to make a killing.” — Wot a difference a night makes! France first uses the withdrawal method, then jumps back in. How convenient! The US (one of the axises of evil) now has an ally.

But SArabia, the second in that triumvirate, was the one who (first) tried to persuade Russia by promising oil by the boatload if they would look the other way, when the west went in.

Putin told the prince to go jump in a lake, so if the US and France invade, it looks as if a retaliatory strike against SArabia is forthcoming, so your call on long oil futures looks like the winning lottery ticket!

But what would China have to say about this? NATO, Germany, Italy, the UK etc. will not participate.

NoteToGT: A BiCoastal “Weepers” favourite – A Capella renditions of Rogers’Finest being “de rigueur”… on the WestCoast, traditionally performed in Bartholomew’s to adoring ‘servers’ attired in FrenchMaid uniforms. Weepers? – see “OurServices”: http://crowsnestnl.ca/?page_id=50

@ 125
‘It’s a free country. Bashing others is a poor substitute for your own inability to compete. A house is not a right. — Garth’

Garth you’re wrong here and it disgusts me to see you write that. Not the part about bashing others but where you suggest the commenter has an ‘inability to compete’. Do I have to remind you that the gov’t meddling with mortgage rules largely caused this mess, driving up prices and turning Canadian real estate into a speculative rat race?

Spreading the notion that putting a roof over ones head is a ‘competition’ would make the likes of Brad Lamb proud. It isn’t a right for anybody to just have a house handed to them, but it is a right that a place to live is attainable within reason here in Canada. Ask someone in Vancouver making $12 an hour if that’s the case though. And don’t say ‘just move’ for that’s easier said than done and no one wants to see an exodus of economic Canadian refugees forced to relocate.

Point is, many people have an ‘inability to compete’ when putting a roof over their head in Canada now whether that be renting or buying, and it’s thanks to a variety of factors. One of them being the attitude you displayed by saying that.

The context was the alleged impact of foreign buyers. In a free market everyone competes for goods, with price determined primarily by supply and demand. Real estate’s no different. BTW, you have no right to ‘attain a house within reason’ in the location of your choosing. — Garth

It is my understanding that in our municipality of Esquimalt it against the by law to have a rental suite in the basement of a duplex. My current LL would have been well aware that my suite was illegal, as he and his partner own the other half of the duplex as well. But, as common practice has been, nobody seemed to care until now.
Yes, I know of another family who this happened to in June-in a single family dwelling. Those folks took over the whole house( the mom upstairs decided to take over the space, to use for her at home daycare. ) The landlords of that house scrambled to come and remove the stove( which is the big no-no). And ironically the LL’s of that place, happen to be police officers who were/are speckers too. As luck would have it, I know who the silent partner in that situation is. Victoria is a small town, if you have lived here a while.
I saw my LL today, and paper work is ready for me tomorrow, and it includes the letter to ‘decommission my suite.
The timing of it all is very suspicious, because 3 days after I was told my suite was going to be inspected, Canada Post announced in all the papers that they would no longer deliver mail to illegal suites. Too much of a coincidence for me. And again, I wonder, WHY NOW?
My previous LL’s made out like bandits(sorry Garth) and my current has been bent over without the proverbial lube.
Nobody-and I repeat nobody-not the bank, not the lawyer AND not even the insurance company warned him of the perils of an illegal suite. Inspector told us, that if a fire breaks out in my suite, insurance is null and void, because it’s an illegal suite. How do you like them apples?

The context was the alleged impact of foreign buyers. In a free market everyone competes for goods, with price determined primarily by supply and demand. Real estate’s no different. BTW, you have no right to ‘attain a house within reason’ in the location of your choosing. — Garth

What is the point of having a nation if anyone can walk in and buy the land? Why don’t we just sell the whole country to the highest bidder?

The truth is that many generations of our ancestors worked and fought to give us this wonderful country and it’s disrespectful to our ancestors to just sell it off for economic purposes.

It’s not racist to say that the land of Canada should be reserved for use by Canadians.

Our ancestors fought for freedom against those who would remove it. This is free. Deal with it. — Garth

C’mon guys, quit hatin’ on Smoking Man. He’s part of this blog too, and can be very eloquent and informative when he wants to be (OK, it’s rare). But hey, his ramblings can be highly entertaining, and often (but not always), contain a grain of truth. Other credits to his name: he coined “batman” and “camel toe” trading, “tax farm slaves” and a string of other hilarious insults.

”you have no right to ‘attain a house within reason’ in the location of your choosing.” — Garth

Sorry Garth. Can’t agree with that depending on the scale of location . I’m talking people who can’t afford to live in their own cities or even provinces, not just certain upper class areas. Like I said before, no one wants to see a day when there is a mass exodus of economic refugees to other provinces just because local jobs don’t pay enough to live in shelter. Call me entitled but your future reality will see shanty towns in major centers in Canada similar to what is seen in China and filled with all those who ‘can’t compete’. That doesn’t fly with me.

“It’s not racist to say that the land of Canada should be reserved for use by Canadians.”
_______________________________________________

Yes, actually, it is. But I do see your point. It really sucks sometimes when you feel you’ve been working hard and pulling out all the stops (getting educated, working full time, paying off all your student loan debts, amassing small savings) to have next to near to nothing to show for it, and be shut out of the housing market, when all you want is a normal, modest life and a place to call your own. Especially when you’ve been honestly and diligently paying taxes, while never claiming EI or any other benefits, but can’t even get access to adequate healthcare (until you get diagnosed with a justified medical condition, LOL). And meanwhile, as you slave away to put whatever extra you have in savings, government and industry through loans and debt-wealth and the irresponsible masses.

Well, been there, done that. And am still there, but not despairing. You have to keep it in perspective. And that includes not laying blame on foreigners. As Garth has previously mentioned (zillions of times, in fact), most of the speculation going on is being played out by domestic investors. Yup, Canadian homeowners willing to gamble their homes that they bought at reasonable price-to-income ratios, so they can invest in two, or three, or more “investment” condos, with the hopes of becoming filthy rich.
So, instead of attacking people who probably aren’t even the real source of the problem, you should probably put your efforts into attacking bad government and industry policy.

Re # 156 CiCi
“Yes, actually, it is.” (in response to: ILoveCharts – “It’s not racist to say that the land of Canada should be reserved for use by Canadians.”)

No it’s really not and I can’t believe I even need to say that. I don’t care what race a foreign investor is. A country is defined by its boundaries and when you allow large parts of land within those boundaries to fall under the ownership of foreign investment, you might as well just give your country away.

Tell us how you feel about the rush of Canadians buying homes in Phoenix and Miami. — Garth

@Old Man, post #124:
Rationalizing a lot of booga you say? You really need to get out more. Both Canada and the USA are, with the exception of aboriginal people, nations of immigrants. People uprooted themselves and came here in search of a better life and many made great contributions in doing so. Where would we be if Sir John A MacDonald never came over here from Scotland? Where would we be if William Van Horne (who was in charge of building the CP Railway) never came here from the United States?

Fast forward to the present and you’ll see a lot of foreigners working here, some who are immigrants and some on shorter term assignments. Similarly, a lot of Canadians are working abroad (yes, including in the USA) and that’s a good thing. People who come here from all over (or leave Canada to go elsewhere) bring new ideas with them and make the world a better place.

Per comment 159 and Garth’s response.
There should be some mechanism to determine people’s ‘value’ if they are permitted to buy land in Canada. We don’t let just anyone move into Canada and get a job. We shouldn’t just let anyone buy in Canada just because they have money.
A foreign purchaser of Canadian land has greater say in the economic and political outcomes of Canada than a foreigner who moves here.
There should be controls.

Land ownership controls are one step on the path to a less free society. Take that step with extreme caution, and considerable fear. — Garth

Actually, I have changed my opinion.
Lets monetize and sell all our water to foreign interests and anyone with money. Lets bid it up to stupid highs. If you can’t afford it, then you can rent it. Just make sure to return it in the same condition after you piss it out.

I had no idea that you were biased in favor of “first” posters, to the point that you delete posts that belittle them. Although I think that’s pretty weak, I’ll respect it and after this will not post on the subject again.

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The views expressed are those of the author, Garth Turner, a Raymond James Financial Advisor, and not necessarily those of Raymond James Ltd. It is provided as a general source of information only and should not be considered to be personal investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Investors considering any investment should consult with their Investment Advisor to ensure that it is suitable for the investor's circumstances and risk tolerance before making any investment decision. The information contained in this blog was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, however, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete. Raymond James Ltd. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.